Can You Feel This?
by Emily Reece
Summary: CHAPTER 3 IS UP! AU. Instead of Jake Jagielski meeting Peyton Sawyer, he meets Regina Stone, a girl with a loud mouth who speaks her mind but has a good heart. When tragedy ensues, will they come together or drift apart? Rated M for future content.
1. Chapter 1

**Can You Feel This?**

Chapter One

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from OTH. Originals, however, are mine.

Author's Note: In this alternate universe, Peyton and Jake never were together. In fact, they've barely spoken two words to each other. Also note that this takes place during their junior year at Tree Hill High.

Summary: AU - Instead of Jake Jagielski meeting Peyton Sawyer, he meets Regina Stone, a girl with a loud mouth who speaks her mind but has a good heart. Regina's wild personality makes Jake wary and he refuses to open up to her but will a shared tragedy bring them closer together or tear them apart? Rated M for future content.

* * *

Intense eyes stared down at the ground as rain drizzled upon it. Drop after drop splashed against the pavement, turning it a darker shade than before. Minutes passed by and the rain began to come down harder. Soon the whole basketball court was wet and shining underneath the bright lights. Despite the harsh rain, Jake Jagielski did not move from his spot on the old bleachers. Instead, he allowed the rain to fall down upon his face, enjoying the coolness that was brought on by the water.

After awhile, the downpour ended but Jake's mood did not improve. His clothes had absorbed the rain water and were now sticking to his skin. It didn't bother him, though, he had other things on his mind, mainly the news he had received that morning. Not knowing what to do, he took off to The Rivercourt during the afternoon of that day. It was shortly after Lucas Scott had joined the basketball team that Jake discovered how calming the new location was. He found that he was able to think clearly without those distracting him. Of course, that was only when The Rivercourt was completely empty and no one was playing basketball. Now, deep in his thoughts, Jake didn't notice a figure emerging from the shadows.

"Well, look who it is. Jake Jagielski sitting in the rain." A female voice said.

Looking up, Jake watched as the girl came into view once she stepped underneath the beam of light. He had seen the girl around school a couple of times but never really spoke to her. They had history class together but they were on opposite sides of the classroom.

"Hey…" He said warily, searching his brain in hopes of remembering her name.

Rolling her eyes, the strange girl stepped closer to the bleachers but opted not to sit down when she saw how wet they were.

"I'm Regina Stone. We're in history class together. You don't know me but I know you… Everybody knows you, Mr. Basketball Star."

"Oh," Jake replied slowly, still trying to remember her. Then it hit him. "Oh! Okay, yeah. You sit behind that Bryan kid, right? The one who's always picking his nose."

Scrunching her nose up in disgust, Meg nodded her head.

"So, what are you doing out here so late at night?" She asked, smiling as leaned against the bleachers, not caring if she was getting a little bit wet.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Feeling sprinkles of rain, Regina decided that since she was going to get wet either way, she might as well sit on the bleachers. She climbed up on the bleachers and sat right next to Jake, a smile spreading across her lips.

"I came out here to clear my mind. It was so loud in my house I couldn't even hear myself think. I didn't think anyone would be out here…" She explained.

"Yeah, this is a good place to sit and think," Jake agreed.

The two sat in silence has the rain poured down on them. Neither bothered to complain that they were wet and cold, especially since it was their decision to sit in the rain, anyway. Instead, they stared at the pavement and occasionally glanced over at each other.

"It's kind of weird," Regina said minutes after the awkward silence settled between them.

"What's weird?"

"It's weird that I've been in your classes since junior high but you've never spoken to me."

Jake didn't respond right away, mainly because he couldn't think of anything to say without making himself sound like an ass. Sighing, he looked over at her and frowned slightly.

Frowning, he replied, "Well, sorry we never spoke. I just… I don't know. You could have come up to me first."

Getting up off of the bleachers, she began to walk away from Jake. His eyebrow shot up instantly as he wondered if he had said something that made her mad. However, the thought quickly disappeared when Regina turned and smiled.

"Meet me in the tutor center before school tomorrow, okay? A little past seven." Regina instructed.

"But I--" Jake tried to respond but it was too late; Regina had disappeared in the shadows.


	2. Chapter 2

**Can You Feel This?**

Chapter Two

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from OTH. Originals, however, are mine.

Summary: AU - Instead of Jake Jagielski meeting Peyton Sawyer, he meets Regina Stone, a girl with a loud mouth who speaks her mind but has a good heart. Regina's wild personality makes Jake wary and he refuses to open up to her but will a shared tragedy bring them closer together or tear them apart? Rated M for future content.

* * *

Sitting in the tutor room with an open notebook on the table, Regina Stone doodled mindlessly as her eyes darted back and forth between her notebook and the clock. It was fifteen minutes until eight and Regina had yet to see Jake. She recalled him saying something after she had given him instructions but she didn't bother going back for him to repeat what he had said. She simply thought he was agreeing.

Sighing loud enough to disrupt those who were studying, Regina stood from the table and slammed her notebook shut. The students surrounding her glared in her direction but, surprisingly, Regina brushed them off and left the room.

Regina was walking down the hall, shoving her notebook into her backpack when she bumped into Lucas.

"Whoa," Lucas said as he bent down to pick up the book he dropped after running directly into Regina. "Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention."

"It's fine, I wasn't paying attention, either," she said. "Hey, you're Lucas, right? Do you know where Jake Jagielski is?"

Lucas raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised that people knew who he was. It was a new world to him. "I'm not sure. He misses school a lot so… Yeah…"

Tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, she smiled. "Well, thanks.

Smiling back, Lucas headed down the hall towards his class while Regina went the opposite direction. Her first period class was history and she didn't expect Jake to be there. When she entered, she was right.

She sighed as she headed over to her desk and plopped down. A second after the bell rang, her friend Carrie Hennessey walked in and sat in the desk beside her. Regina stared at her for a moment or two, not saying anything because Carrie looked upset. It was completely unlike her to come into the classroom without saying a word but she had.

"Are you okay?" Regina asked, turning her body towards Carrie.

Carried didn't reply right away. Instead, she turned away and got her history book out of her backpack. Regina waited a second or two before she pressed the situation. This time she scooter her desk closer and began to whisper.

"Did something happen at the party last night?" She wondered, referencing the party the Carrie went to the night prior.

Sighing, Carrie propped herself up with her elbow and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "That bitch Brooke Davis was there. She was drunk and I was talking to Lucas Scott and she basically threw a fit and said I was trying to steal her man. For the record, they're not even dating. When we were talking, he kept mentioning Peyton Sawyer, which you obviously know is her best friend. She just said some really cruel things so I'm still kind of pissed about it." She explained.

As Carrie continued to explain what exactly Brooke had said, Regina found herself zoning in and out of the conversation. As hard as she tried to pay attention, Jake Jagielski kept popping up in the back of her mind. It didn't help when Jake entered the classroom fifteen minutes late and didn't bother looking in Regina's direction.

"--then she went to dump a drink on me but she missed. Thank God. I really think Brooke has some iss--"

Carrie was still rambling on about her run-in with Brooke but Regina was focused on Jake who was finally giving her attention. He glanced over at her and gave her an apologetic smile which made Regina return the favor with a smile of her own.

"Miss Hennessy, please stop talking." The history teacher instructed, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Carrie. "Now, we're going to start a new project. I want you all to get into pairs and then--"

Before the history teacher could even finish what he was saying, Regina darted from her chair and over to Jake. Her action further put Carrie in a bad mood, considering she and Regina were partners for absolutely everything.

"Hi, Jake." Regina beamed as she slid into the empty desk beside him. "We're going to be partners, okay?"

Regina had a tendency to be a little bossy. She was also many other adjectives that weren't exactly positive. With her in-your-face type of personality, a lot of guys were turned off by that but she was too oblivious. She was also too oblivious to see that Jake wasn't interested in her at all.

"Well, I… Uh…" Jake stuttered, trying to think of a good excuse to get out of being her partner.

Regina didn't take the hint. "Great! Then it's settled. Are you good at history? I'm not. It's so boring. I just can't concentrate on it. I especially can't concentrate on it when there are cute boys in my class." She rambled, throwing a wink in at the end.

"So, I just wanted to say sorry about not meeting you this morning. I had some things to take care of. I tried telling you last night but you were already gone." Jake explained.

Regina didn't speak for a moment. She had completely forgotten that Jake had stood her up. Now that it was brought up again, her mood was slightly soured. "It's okay, I guess." She said shrugging, trying to pretend like she didn't care.

An awkward silence settled between the two as the history teacher gave out instructions. Every now and then, Regina would steal a glance at Jake and found that he was stealing glances, as well. Her cheeks grew hot and she was sure they were a bright shade of pink or even red. Every time Jake looked at her, she felt herself melting faster and faster.

"So, I was thinking we could work on this dumb project tonight at my house. I figure if we get it done real fast, we could just hang out during class and just chill. Does that sound good?" Regina turned her body towards Jake and smiled.

Frowning, Jake ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, Mr. Carter said we wouldn't have to work on it outside of class…"

"I know but we could get it done quicker if we did it outside of class."

"I'm pretty busy so we'll just do it in class." Jake said firmly.

Feeling defeated, Regina stood up from her chair and began walking back to her own desk. Picking up her backpack, she swung it over her shoulder and began heading to the door. The second she stepped outside of the classroom, the bell rang.

Despite her bad mood, a sly grin spread across Regina's lips when she saw Nathan Scott coming out of his classroom. She quickened her pace so she could talk to him before moving onto her next classroom. Despite him being popular and her not so much, the two meshed well at parties. They meshed well in more ways than one.

"Nathan!" Regina called out as she approached him.

"Hey," he said, smiling his usual sexy half smile. "Are you comin' to the party tonight?"

"Only if you're going to be there."

"It's at my beach house so, uh, yeah." Nathan laughed.

"Then let me reword that." She smirked. "Only if you're going to be there naked in your bedroom and waiting for me."

"As long as you arrive half naked, then yes, I'll be waiting for you." He leaned down, pressing a hard kiss against her lips before walking off.

Despite Regina knowing that Nathan was constantly getting around with different girls, she didn't mind. She was pissed at Jake and needed something to take her mind off of things and Nathan happened to be the perfect thing. Since Regina was a somewhat vindictive person, she hopes that Jake would show up at the party so she could attempt to make him jealous.


	3. Chapter 3

**Can You Feel This?**

Chapter Three

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from OTH. Originals, however, are mine.

Author's Note: Although I should have addressed this issue in the previous chapter, I had forgotten so I'll do it now. Apologies for the first chapter being so short. I wanted to keep it as a simple introduction of the two characters. The rest should be longer. Enjoy!

* * *

"Well, look who showed up."

Recognizing the voice, Regina spun around on her heel and came face to face with Nathan. She had been wondering where he was, seeing as how she had been at the party, which was hosted by him, for a little over a half hour and he hadn't yet greeted her. Wherever he was, Regina was glad that he finally came out of hiding. Without him around, she found herself constantly looking for Jake, her eyes always darting around the room in search of him.

"Hey!" She called out as she flung her arms around his neck. "Where've you been?"

Nathan rested his hands on either side of her small waist and leaned down, planting a sloppy kiss against her lips. "I've been around." He said simply, not bothering to go into further detail.

Wiggling from beneath his hands, Regina took a few steps back. She could tell that he was already wasted and she didn't want to be the victim of yet another messy kiss. Her decision to come to the party and use Nathan to get Jake off of her mind was something she was already beginning to regret.

"I was thinking that maybe later, or now, we could go up to your bedroom?" Regina said with a devilish grin, deciding to go along with her original plan regardless of how drunk Nathan was or would soon be.

Nathan opened his mouth to spit out a cocky reply when a girl with mousy brown hair that was covered by a hideous green hat appeared by his side. Regina's eyes slowly went from top to bottom of the strange girl, trying to register who she was. It took only a second before she realized that the girl was Haley James, best friend to Lucas Scott. Had Lucas not made the basketball team, she would have never known who she was.

"Nathan, can we talk?" Haley asked, her eyes darting back and forth between Nathan and Regina.

Not one to allow a girl steal her man, dating or not, Regina stepped a little closer to Nathan. Once more she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. Standing on the tips of her toes, she planted a soft kiss against his lips and proceed to pull away. Her kind eyes turned icy when she glanced over at Haley but returned to normal once they were back on Nathan.

"I'll see you in the bedroom, Nate," she said and followed the sentence with a wink.

* * *

Leaning against the kitchen counter, Regina sipped from her plastic cup as she listened to an acne-faced guy talk about his sex life. Waving the guy off, she walked away from the counter and out of the kitchen. Her eyes scanned the living room before finally landing on Lucas. Smiling, she made her way towards him.

"Hey, Luke. Is Jake here tonight?" She asked, instantly wishing she hadn't brought Jake up for a second time to Lucas.

Taking a sip from his cup, Lucas shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure. I thought I saw him earlier but I could be wrong."

"Oh… Okay." Smiling thankfully, Regina brushed past him and went further into the living room.

After plopping down onto a couch, Brooke Davis appeared and sat down beside her. The two stared at each other for a moment before speaking. Regina could feel her body tense as she predicted she'd soon be facing off with the cheerleader diva.

"Does Peyton know you're making out with her boyfriend all of the time?" Brooke sneered.

"Does Brooke know that I don't care?" Regina replied with a smirk.

Brooke was not used to being talked back to; thus, Regina's snide remark threw her off. She blinked a couple of times before rolling her eyes, using the eye roll as a last resort. After all, she did not want to look like an idiot.

"Stay away from Nathan, skank." Brooke said as she stood up from the couch. A smirk spread across her lips slowly as she dipped down to whisper in Regina's ear. "You'll regret messing with Peyton. Mark my words."

Before slipping away, Brooke made sure to drop her half-full cup of beer into Regina's lap. She was gone before Regina had any time to react. The alcohol was absorbed by her denim skirt and brown tank-top.

Regina grabbed the cup and threw it onto the floor. There was no way in hell that she was going to let some idiotic girl who thinks she runs shit mess with her. She stood up from the couch and made her way into the general direction where she saw Brooke slip to. It didn't take long before she found the brunette bombshell.

Walking by an un-expecting partygoer, Regina grabbed their cup of beer and walked over to Brooke. She reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder hard, spinning her around in the process. Before Brooke was able to react to the sudden action, Regina threw the alcohol in her face.

"Bitch!" Brooke cried out as she wiped her face off with her hand. Her nostrils flared from anger as she reached out, smacking Regina hard across the face.

Regina touched the side of her face, the skin hot beneath her hand. She grabbed Brooke by the hair and banged her head against the wall. People were piling into the living room to see what all of the commotion was about. When the crowd saw that there was a girl fight, they cut the music and began cheering loudly.

Pulling away from Regina's death grip on her hair, Brooke charged forward and knocked her onto the ground. No one wanted to break the fight up. Instead, the crowd stood around laughing and egging the two girls on. Punches were thrown, hair was pulled, and bitch slaps occurred before finally Lucas pulled Brooke off of Regina.

Standing up, Regina was ready to go again. She lunged forward, her hands balled up into fists but was suddenly pulled back. Not caring who was holding her back, she struggled to break free from his tight grip. She wiggled her body and tried to inch her way closer to Brooke, who was also trying to break free from Lucas.

Lucas picked Brooke up, throwing her over his shoulder and made his way out of the living room and towards the front door. Regina's eyes narrowed as Brooke past, wanting so badly to punch her square in the jaw. Brooke had the same idea only she attempted to punch Regina one last time. However, her plan failed when Lucas grabbed her arm and held it down.

"So, what evil thing did Brooke do to piss you off?" The male who was holding Regina back asked.

Regina spun around to see who had been holding her back. To her surprise, it was Jake. Her bad mood quickly vanished and a large smile spread across her face. She draped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. Despite being mad at him earlier, she was happy to see him.

Linking her arm with his, she began walking towards the backdoor. "I'll tell you all about it outside, okay?" She smiled.

Since Regina was already dragging him towards the door, he nodded his head in agreement, not exactly having any say in the matter. Part of him was regretting pulling her off of Brooke because he was sure she was going to hang all over him and flirt. It wasn't that he didn't find her attractive, he just had a lot of personal matters that didn't allow him to get tied up with a girl.

Once they were outside, Regina began discussing what had occurred that evening. However, she left out the part about kissing Nathan. She didn't want him knowing because she figured he would be turned off by her slut-like behavior and not want to be with her. He had already been showing signs of not wanting to be with her but she was almost certain she could change his mind.

When she was finished telling her story, Jake just shook his head and laughed. He had known Brooke for a couple of years or so and how Regina described her was exactly how she was. It would be considered unusual if Brooke were at a party and not making an ass out of herself, or even others.

"That's Brooke for you," Jake told her. "Don't let her get to you."

"It wasn't that she got to me. That bitch dropped her drink in my lap. I'm not going to let her do that kind of shit." Regina retorted.

Jake didn't bother replying. He wasn't in the mood to get into an argument with Regina, which he was almost certain would happen if he continued to tell her to just ignore Brooke. Regina was the type of person who wouldn't listen to anyone but herself. It was pointless to argue with her. She would make sure she'd always win. Jake hadn't known her that long and he could already tell that she was that type of person.

When Jake didn't respond, Regina figured she made him mad somehow. However, when she looked over at him, he smiled sweetly at her. The smile then set her mind at ease. It bothered her that he didn't seem that into her, though. In the past two days that they were together, she was constantly flirting. One would have to be blind, deaf, and dumb not to see it. Since the flirting wasn't working, she knew she'd have to do something drastic.

Turning her body towards him, she waited until he looked over at her. When he did, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. She closed her eyes as she reached up with her hand and rested it on the side of his face. Regina knew she was taking a risk by kissing him but it was one she felt that needed to be taken.


End file.
